Once in a Lifetime!

[Kris Benwa]

Once in a Lifetime was an amazing match was it not? Is Cena not one of the greatest "Big main event" match workers of all time?

A little backstory: Cena and The Rock two of the faces on WWE's Mt. Rushmore had real life beef a while back. Just like in the world of pro wrestling real life beef turns into cash. WM 27 The Rock made his return home to the WWE and took some verbal jabs at Cena. This ended up leading to them making the main event of WrestleMania 28 one year in advance. There it was in the history books April 1, 2012, WrestleMania 28, one of the greatest attractions of all time and I will make the case one of the greatest matches of all time, the world witnessed John Cena vs The Rock in the main event with the Tagline: Once in a Lifetime.

I got the urge to rewatch the match and the preceding video packages last night. At this point I was in more of a wrestling mind frame than I usually am and I really picked up on some things I hadn't previously. The first time I watched this match as it was happening I admit I was rooting for Cena because I felt his sentiments of how The Rock had left us. I was a huge Rocky fan for a long time. When I watched it last night though, not to sound weird, but I felt that connection with The Rock like I had all those times so many years ago. When he came out, it was as if he had never left and it was amazing the connection from the people to the people's champion.

That brings me to one of the reasons why I love the match. It has such a huge fight feel. Cena damn near always brings that dynamic to his matches and The Rock does as well. When you add that into the crowd doing their thing, all the anticipation leading to this match for over a year prior, the feud and build itself you'll see that the match just seems like a major deal. As much as I was annoyed by the singing when I watched it live, I hate to admit that all of that helped add to the atmosphere of one of the greatest attractions ever.

I love the story of this match. I've heard people bring up how Cena came out not acting very serious but I argue that was intentional and a way to add to the story that was being told. Leading up to the match they had Cena out talking The Rock the majority of the time, and looking like Cena was a sure thing to win. Cena came out to an arena full of boos exuding confidence. That's why he wasn't being serious when he came out because he was playing the confident, borderline arrogant guy who knows he has the match won. This arrogance would be his downfall in the end. The Rock also came out showing confidence but it was the smoother kind of confidence that shows that he knows what he had to do to win the match and that's what he was going to do.

Another reason why I like this match ties into the previous paragraph. It's one of the few times during Cena's top guy run that they've let him work more as a heel in the match. Cena was showing great psychology by working on the ribs of The Rock and The Rock was selling like Cena was killing him. That was beautiful IMO. Cena worked all of the rest holds as well. He attacked the ribs early in the match and stayed on them for the rest of it. He also played the subtle confident heel during the match with his facial expressions and his demeanor. That is until they kicked it up another notch it was the "Maybe I bit off more than I can chew" look that we got from Cena and The Rock at certain points in the match. In the end Cena's overconfidence would be his downfall when he tried to attempt The Rock's finisher and was countered and pinned for the 3 count. They worked the match perfectly with that same dynamic that was there throughout the first half of the feud.

The way this match ended perfectly and logically led into the sequel. Cena's confidence had gotten the better of him and he suffered the worst loss of his career. The Rock had gotten the job done just like he set out to do. This made it so for the rematch the roles were slightly reversed. The Rock was the one with the confidence while Cena was the one that had been humbled. Cena ended up learning from his prior mistake and outsmarted The Rock to pick up the victory and the WWE title in the rematch of Once in a Lifetime.

I think when you look at everything that goes into a match, especially the main event of a WrestleMania objectively, this is one of the greatest matches of all time. Now I'm not saying that solely based on in ring work but based on that combined with every other aspect of the match it's one of the greatest ever. to The Rock and John Cena for putting on such an amazing match.

I'd like to hear some of you guy's thoughts on this but I'd like to hear them in some what detail. Sorry if I went on a little long but these are just some thoughts I had while watching the match again early this morning/last nght. TL;DR is The Rock vs Cena at WM 28 was an amazing match and if you look at it in every way it's one of the greatest. I then go on to explain why I think so. I suggest anyone who hasn't seen the match recently to rewatch it because it really is great. Thoughts?

 

[MrGameTime]

The thing that annoys me is they ruined it when they did the rematch at wm29 it then made the first match laughable aka twice in a lifetime.

And second time round you know cena was going to get his payback win it was so obvious. But yes 1st match was good, not a technical masterpeice but good all round not on the same fan reaction wise to rock and hogan though.

I dont think we will never see a match with that much noise ever again, the only one i could see come close is if they do a sting vs undertaker wm31 double retirement match, fans will mark out and go crazy when they go face to face at the staredown

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

It was my favorite feud/match of this Era. Nothing has come close for Cena's career since then IMO.

 

[James2293]

It was a good match. The build was decent. The mania crowd made it better. But i think wwe were trying to remake the mania moment rock had with Hogan which they didnt top. But overall a good match with a surprise finish

 

[kadroan]

The thing that annoys me is they ruined it when they did the rematch at wm29 it then made the first match laughable aka twice in a lifetime.

And second time round you know cena was going to get his payback win it was so obvious. But yes 1st match was good, not a technical masterpeice but good all round not on the same fan reaction wise to rock and hogan though.

I dont think we will never see a match with that much noise ever again, the only one i could see come close is if they do a sting vs undertaker wm31 double retirement match, fans will mark out and go crazy when they go face to face at the staredown

I wish Punk would have won the title back at EC 2013 and let the match be a triple threat at WM 29.

The Rock looked out of shape in his match with Cena at WM 29.

I believe we could see a match like that - Stone Cold vs. Punk, The Rock vs. Brock II (if creative books it right), Taker vs. Sting, Lesnar vs. Batista (if creative books it right), Reigns vs. Batista (as long as they don't rush Reigns' push)

 

[Kris Benwa]

I agree with the triple threat idea at 29. Punk had become legitimately the top heel by time 29 came around and it was hard for them to top the match at WM 28. I think adding Punk into the mix would have made for something amazing. But just as easily as it could have been amazing, it also could have been sour. I liked the story of The Rock vs John Cena and Punk was a minor footnote I'm not sure how it would have played out if he would have become a major player. I can't picture them working a great triple threat but I would have liked to see them try. However it was appropriate for Cena to avenge his earth shattering loss

 

[Zycho32]

The Rock/Cena feud is a nice example of the pitfalls that can present themselves when you essentially write an extremely long-term storyline in Wrestling.

What you had was basically a three-year feud that picked up for the most part during Wrestlemania Season and on a couple special occasions (Survivor Series '11, Raw 1000, etc.) and was completely and totally Main Event status. Spotty, sure, but anything the stretches out so long has no choice but to be part-time. If you spent time on the feud on every damn Raw and Smackdown and even all the other PPVs you'd better have a God at the typewriter or it's going to flatline real fast.

One can comment on the parts played by the competitors, which basically looked like two juveniles taking pot-shots at each other. It's honestly a little awkward to watch. Watching some of the Rock's Satellite segments and Cena's in-ring rebuttals, you're not so much watching the epic build-up to a Dream Match as you are watching a comedy segment. The serious moments were few and far between, the whole structure of the feud looked haphazardly put together (and probably WAS given Rock's Hollywood commitments) and at the end of it, the match itself was teflon against whatever push those promos could have done. Both characters ended up pigeon-holed; Cena's 'unique' response turned a little worse even though he wasn't the one who walked out of the WWE to make movies and was in the ring all the damn time to make his promos, and he couldn't be turned heel to compensate for the reaction because Cena was/is still the golden fucking calf of the WWE from a marketing standpoint. Rock could do all the heelish stuff possible and he still wouldn't have turned the audience to see him as a potential heel. That's how badly the fans simply refused to play to the script.

In truth, the feud itself didn't suffer missteps until the build-up to WM 29, or rather, right after WM 28 ended. Anyone with a brain cell should've known that Cena losing to the Rock was not going to be the end of it, no matter the slogan of the match (By the way, the people who cling to 'Once in a Lifetime'? Would've chucked it if Cena won and called for a rematch). Of course, then you have to come up with a legit reason for Rock to come back from Hollywood and have Round 2 with Cena, and there's the Championship and the Royal Rumble, and...

Ultimately, WM 29's Main Event was highly predictable, and to be honest, predictability isn't a bad thing as long as the journey there isn't lackluster. Unfortunately, it turned out that way. The lead-up was tainted somewhat by the circumstances involved(more on that later), the match itself offered little that could've been above the norm(Rock being unfit and then injured for the match sure as crap didn't help) and the result felt ho-hum. A consolation prize, if anything.

The Rock/Cena feud also served as a sort of glass ceiling; it was going to be the very top event no matter what, and this is where CM Punk comes into play, as his ascension to Top Level status directly conflicted with the long-term plan associated here. Punk has the WWE title for WM 28, and gets Chris Jericho as his challenger. Good-to-Great match, but second-tier nevertheless (third tier depending on your view of the HIAC brawl between Taker and HHH) which isn't what you want for your Title matches at all. Fast forward one year later and Punk has to lose the title to keep the bigger storyline going and he gets a consolation match with Taker that ultimately steals the show but even then it's overshadowed by Rock/Cena II. Punk would never ever get this high again, and he got passed up. It's happened many times before, but that's hardly an excuse in this case.

Punk being left out isn't a venomous condemnation of the Rock/Cena feud, mind you, but rather a lesson as to how rigid, long-term storytelling can constrict natural developments, and potentially hinder the product.

 

[THE CEREBRAL Viper 1986]

i agree the match @ wrestlemania 28 was good but tome imo it wasn't gr8 cena and rock "rapping" to eachother seemed childish it didn't match the magic of rock and hogan or hbk and taker 1 and 2 did it suck no but i think wwe could have done better with the build

 

[JJ15776]

I'd be interested in comparing how people feel about this match with their ages. I suspect most of the people who view it as a truly special match are younger, while the older crowd just looks at it as another good match. And that's not a knock on anybody, everybody remembers things they saw in their youth more fondly than they view things today. If you were old enough to really see and appreciate Hogan vs. Rock, it'd probably be hard for you to get as excited about Rock vs. Cena. If you're even older, and you really remember Hogan vs. Andre, it was probably harder for you to get excited about Hogan vs. Rock, let alone Rock vs. Cena. And in 10 years, Cena will fight some guy who's in high school right now, and the young fans will think it was the greatest match ever while older fans(who are the younger fans now) will say it can't compare to Rock-Cena.

That's just a long way of saying WWE did their job. This generation's wrestling fans got their moment.

The thing that makes this one unique compared to the other two, of course, is that the old guy won the first match and "passed the torch" in the rematch. And I think that story was fine, don't get me wrong, but I think I would've preferred a one off match where Cena came out on top. Let Rock face somebody else at WM29. And I'm not saying that as a complaint about the "once in a lifetime" tag because I get it, the once in a lifetime thing was about the special, year long build more than who was involved. The only caveat is if winning the WWE title was a condition for Rock's return, which it may have been, then they had to do what they did. Or they could've saved the one Rock-Cena match for WM29, and had Rock do something else at 28. But he started the feud with Cena at 27, so I don't know, you'd have to redo his whole return at that point.

I enjoyed the match. Of the super matches at WrestleMania that I've mentioned here, this was clearly the best as far as wrestling goes. And the build was entertaining too, although I was disappointed that Cena didn't bring out his rapper gimmick more often.

 

[Dragon Chief]

The WrestleMania 28 match between these two is one that will talked about for the ages. I wanted to see The Rock face John Cena since 2005 (when John Cena bashed Rocky), so finally getting to see it was just incredible. I don't think the rematch between these two greats comes even close to the greatness that was the first match, in terms of hype, crowd and wrestling. I just watched this match the other day and I have to say at times it felt like they tried to emulate Hulk Hogan V. The Rock at WM x8 but couldn't quite replicate that spectacle, the same way the rematch at WM 29 couldn't replicate the magic in the first match, however the fact that The Rock won made this match a classic, adding a unique twist, leaving it's mark in WrestleMania history.

 

[Kris Benwa]

The WrestleMania 28 match between these two is one that will talked about for the ages. I wanted to see The Rock face John Cena since 2005 (when John Cena bashed Rocky), so finally getting to see it was just incredible. I don't think the rematch between these two greats comes even close to the greatness that was the first match, in terms of hype, crowd and wrestling. I just watched this match the other day and I have to say at times it felt like they tried to emulate Hulk Hogan V. The Rock at WM x8 but couldn't quite replicate that spectacle, the same way the rematch at WM 29 couldn't replicate the magic in the first match, however the fact that The Rock won made this match a classic, adding a unique twist, leaving it's mark in WrestleMania history.

Have to agree with you brother. However I think as far as the wrestling, this was a far better match than both of the others. I agree with the rematch but WM 29 really didnt click for me as a whole. Triple H vs Lesnar and Rock vs Cena are matches I had been wanting to see for years but I had already seen them by then. It's a shame.

 

[MCMG]

I watched both their matches in recent weeks and 28 was actually quite good. Sure, it wasn't an absolute classic but they did a good job.

The build up was immense. People were legitimately excited and I do believe 28 was the highest grossing WWE event of all time. Cena and The Rock exchanged some fantastic promos that created a superb buzz around the match. Like I said, the match was good enough bearing in mind it was The Rock's first match in about 8 years.

Their 29 match was pretty poor. Too many finishers. The winner was obvious and the build simply wasn't as good.

 

[Thewweera]

I loved the Wrestlemanis 28 match. GREAT build up. There were dull moments as it was a year long build but overall the hype before this match was huge!! If you go back and look at the comments/posts people were posting right before the match, it was extremely well built. The match itself in my eyes, delivered. It did what it was suppose to do. The finish was amazing as well.

 

[Thecorporatechamp]

I really enjoyed the first feud between the Rock and cena. I think the right guy went over. The feud got me back into wrestling and exposed me to some of the new talents. I did not like the way cena acted during this feud because he seemed like a little kid who didnt take the feud seriously. Once I read kris benwas comments, he seemed to shed some light on why cena was acting the way he was. I still believed he was actually intimidated. He hadn't really gone up against a star that was bigger than himself since he had become the face of the wwe. I thought the match was a lot of fun and for me Id rather watch 2 guys who connect with the crowd, cut great promos, and put on a decent match rather than two dudes who just hit big spots. I feel like Rock vs cenas the second time wasn't that great because we knew the outcome and I dont feel like cena really needed to get a win back. If they had to go this route they should have done it at a smaller pay per view. I understand though because its all about the MONEY and wrestlmania buy rates were through the roof. In conclusion I really loved the first feud (it brought me back to watching the wwe) but I thought the second one (while still kind of enjoyable) was just so cena could get a win and the wwe could make more money.

p.s. The Rock is the man and the goat imo!

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Cena vs. Rock I (Miz just happened to be present in the ring, for some bizarre reason) was terrible. II was good, not great. III soured the whole saga for me. One of the worst main events ever, and the crowd silence spoke volumes.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

It was a great match, but it was overblown.

No really, it didn't deserve the amount of attention that it received.

How can I say that about one of the biggest dream matches of all time?

Let's consider: Rock Vs. Cena was a feud that essentially held the entire WWE hostage for 2+ years, encompassing three WrestleManias. WM 27's entire main event was made incidental to the presence of its host: The Rock. No one cared about The Miz - you know...the World Champion at the time. I don't care who you blame that on, that's just a poor decision and planning on the WWE's part to make their champion irrelevant.

Next, they set the main event of the WrestleMania 28 the night after WrestleMania 27. Daring? SURE! I couldn't give a shit less about any other match that night in Miami, and if that's what they were going for, they sure did succeed. WWE Champion CM Punk? Who the fuck cares? We got Rock Vs. Cena... the match that we knew was closing out the night for an entire year coming on next!

And it was a great match. It was an awesome match. I'm even okay with the ending, even though I completely understand those who say it should've been the Rock passing on the torch to Cena (who didn't need any fucking torch passed on by Rock anyways because honestly...Cena lit his own torch years before and didn't need anyone's help).

But then...the WWE couldn't help themselves. They had to do it again. And they had to telegraph the entire thing another 9 months before the event YET AGAIN. The Rock declared on Raw 1000 that he was going to win the World Title at the Royal Rumble.

Well fuck. Guess we know what's going to happen at the Royal Rumble now. I can also make a pretty fucking good guess who's going to win the Royal Rumble too. Shit! I'm so goddamn brilliant, I can even guess what the main event of WrestleMania 29 is now. And look at that...the WWE didn't even TRY to upset expectations. They went by the book: Punk drops to Rock (as set up during RAW 1000), Cena wins RR, and Rock drops title to Cena in rematch of WM 28.

Be still my beating heart.

And that's my problem with the wonderful Rock/Cena saga. I had to see it play out over 2 whole goddamn years, when a tight 3 to 4 month feud that tied it to a single WrestleMania would've been PERFECT.

Yeah yeah yeah...it's a business and Rock/Cena is good business and makes lots of money, and because they made lots of money twice that means I'm wrong. Except I'm not. Because I don't give a shit: It didn't make for compelling viewing the second time around. If I'm wrong, show me someone who says they liked the second Rock/Cena better than the first. Typically there's at least one person...I'm guessing it'll be hard finding one. In the meantime, I can point out that the rest of the roster was essentially screwed out of having a snowball's chance at getting into the Main Event of WrestleMania 29. As we saw in WM 30, that chase can actually be entertaining and compelling.

 

[chris21]

For goodness sake why does CM punk have to be brought into everything? He doesn't even come close to the star power of The Rock and John Cena. Put him in the match to make it a triple threat? Silly idea, he'd have been after thought in the match much like Miz was at 27. Maybe not quite as bad as Miz but wouldn't have been far off. The Rock and John Cena are icons and in the top 5 superstars of all time, CM Punk despite obviously being a very talented guy isn't even top 20.

 

[Gcovatti]

For goodness sake why does CM punk have to be brought into everything? He doesn't even come close to the star power of The Rock and John Cena. Put him in the match to make it a triple threat? Silly idea, he'd have been after thought in the match much like Miz was at 27. Maybe not quite as bad as Miz but wouldn't have been far off. The Rock and John Cena are icons and in the top 5 superstars of all time, CM Punk despite obviously being a very talented guy isn't even top 20.

If that scenario happened, i'm pretty sure the crowd would be on punk's side despite his allegedly low star power in comparison.

As for the first match, well it's in the class of those big big matches, but far from being a great macth and light years from being the best of all time. In the end it was neither bigger or better than Triple H vs Taker, and that was a rematch.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

WM28 was a great match (and when i say match, i refer to the entire year of build and the actual match itself).

Sadly, it was watered down by the rematch. I understand that it was a logic move, but...if they wanted to get Cena won the feud, i would've prefer to have him win the first and "once in a lifetime match". At least it would have mean something, the outcome of the rematch was so obvious.

 

[FlairFan2003]

It's hard to top the 1st match in a feud with this kind of build because the build makes it so huge. Hogan-Andre is a prime example of that.

A lot of people felt the ending to Rock-Cena II was predictable but lets be honest, in The Rock's big return after a lengthy absence, in Miami, his home, was he really losing ? Plus, where is the money in a re match if Cena beats him in the first match, do we really care about the part timer who shows up twice a year if Cena wins Match #1 ? Maybe, but with the event being in Miami and Rock having been away so long it made sense to play it out as they did.

Part of what made this appealing is it was essentially the last "dream match" left, outside maybe Sting-Taker. Since the first wrestling boom in the mid 80s we had seen Hogan's dream matches (Andre, Ultimate Warrior, Flair, Sting, Rock, honorable mention to HBK), Flair (Hogan, Savage, Hart, HBK, Taker, Austin, Angle), and now both those iconic figures were pretty much retired and done. Austin being injured hurts a bit (same with Hart who was in early 40s when he was injured and based on what HBK, Flair, and HHH have shown they could do at the age and makes you think he had a lot of great wrestling in him) and HHH having been healthy enough to strattle two eras and wrestle virtually everyone of note 1998-2008 really only left you with one true "Dream Match" between big time Main Event SuperStars who had never clashed before, and could still perform in the ring...Cena vs Rock.

I thought both matches were good, what impressed me most about WM 28 was the fact Rock really hadn't wrestled at all in almost a decade save for a tag match at S-Series, yet he was polished enough and in shape enough to last 30 minutes in fairly well paced match, that's really amazing. Maybe it wasn't Flair-Steamboat or HBK-Hart but those were 30 good minutes at a good pace, with a good mix of brawling, technical wrestling, crowd popping moments, and a good finish. Considering that these guys had never wrestled each other along with Rock's long lay off, that's pretty amazing.

Cena does have a habit of delivering very good matches on PPV even if many of his TV matches look too much like the standard, Hulk Hogan like short superhero fare. Cena vs Edge was always a great encounter, if Savage was Hogan's best nemesis, HBK was Hart's and Steamboat/and or Dusty Rhodes was Flair's then Edge was the best rival for Cena, great clash of characters, great charisma against each other, and they played well in the ring despite the contrast in their styles. Cena though also has had very good matches on PPV vs HHH, HBK, & Orton so the Edge rivalry wasn't a fluke.

I admit, neither result was a shock but they were both entertaining and made nice bookends to both careers.

 

[FlairFan2003]

If that scenario happened, i'm pretty sure the crowd would be on punk's side despite his allegedly low star power in comparison.

As for the first match, well it's in the class of those big big matches, but far from being a great macth and light years from being the best of all time. In the end it was neither bigger or better than Triple H vs Taker, and that was a rematch.

I think in terms of wrestling history Cena-Rock was bigger than any of the HHH-Taker matches. That said, you can make a strong argument that in terms of match quality, though Cena-Rock was good, HHH-Taker was better.

I liked all 3 HHH-Taker encounters, and give WWE and HHH credit for creating storylines and matches that left some legit doubt as to wether or not Taker and his Streak would prevail. Those were three intense, well scripted, evenly fought battles that I could watch again any time (I don't say that lightly, not many matches I feel that way about) but in terms of historical significance Cena-Rock was bigger.

 

[RicSpade]

I will admit that the first one was good and honestly Cena bad mouthing the Rock years prior to lobby for the match is why this ever happened. I don't believe however it was bigger then Rock and Hogan, nor was it the best match of Cena's career, I think the best match Cena ever had was that near hour spectacle with HBK.

 

[whoopin' ass]

My only real issue, other than them doing it a second time the next year, is I am not a huge fan of bringing someone in for these matches. When it was Hogan/Rock, both were with the company so it was a natural thing to do but here Rock was gone for a long time. Obviously it was going to be a moneymaker but I am not sure that it helped the company the way they thought it would. They may have gotten extra viewers when Rock was on but are those viewers still around? Also Rock's interaction with other wrestlers was limited so not a lot of the guys benefited from him being there other than Cena who really didn't need the rub. And he also showed how lacking a majority of the roster is when it comes to entertaining the crowd. I think the match was better than people expected and there was short term gain but if you are going to bring someone back, I think it needs to help the company more than just a few dollars in the pocket and I don't know if this did.

 

[chris21]

My only real issue, other than them doing it a second time the next year, is I am not a huge fan of bringing someone in for these matches. When it was Hogan/Rock, both were with the company so it was a natural thing to do but here Rock was gone for a long time. Obviously it was going to be a moneymaker but I am not sure that it helped the company the way they thought it would. They may have gotten extra viewers when Rock was on but are those viewers still around? Also Rock's interaction with other wrestlers was limited so not a lot of the guys benefited from him being there other than Cena who really didn't need the rub. And he also showed how lacking a majority of the roster is when it comes to entertaining the crowd. I think the match was better than people expected and there was short term gain but if you are going to bring someone back, I think it needs to help the company more than just a few dollars in the pocket and I don't know if this did.

You say limited but he still did segments with Bryan, Sandow, Cody, Miz and R Truth. Not exactly the whole roster but considering he's a huge hollywood star now and he was part time he didn't do bad in trying to help other talent.

I think that's what I'd like out of the Rock now. I'm a huge fan and loved his return and he got his moments over Cena and Punk but if he is to come back now I'd like him to help Reigns, Bryan etc...the future talent. Whether that works for Vince who knows or even works for Dwayne himself....he does have an ego but in fairness he's always been willing to put over talent when he was full time.

 

[Meth Head]

They should have kept true to the "Once in a Lifetime" tagline because the rematch sucked.